More Kamping....er, Camping

All meals were planned and provided by Mom Giles. Her kabin was affectionately referred to as “Kostco of Krescent Kity”. They had packed their car so full of food from Costco, they couldn’t fit even one passenger. (Kimber had to ride with Kristy...yes, her name is really spelled with a "k". :) This was 7 meals for 23 people – yes, quite a feat, but I never really thought we would need 2 gallons of maple syrup for 3 breakfasts. Lucky us…we got to bring home the leftovers that were “unreturnable” to Costco. Her talents of organizing and preparing this sort of event are unparalleled and appreciated, no matter how much we enjoy “jabbing” her about it. The abundance of food seemed almost a real-life parable of the love she holds for all of us.

Here is what was left in the pantry the night before we broke camp. You should have seen it the first day. Wow!

Campfire chats. (Did you notice I didn't write "Kampfire"? Yah, the "k's" are starting to get on my nerves, too.) For us, there were 3 phases to the campfire ritual in the evening.

1) Dinner and treats (a la Aunt Jenni) with the kids around the fire pit. We circled the army of camp chairs and had lively meals that lasted an hour or two.

2) When the children went to bed, the adults shared bonding time. One night was “Check In” – a Giles family ritual that includes a youngest-to-oldest report on the many goings-on in everyone’s lives. Other nights were less structured and very enjoyable as well.

3) The communal camfire was just outside of our cabin, so we stayed up after everyone else retired until the fire died to coals, and then we blew on them to keep them going so we could stare into their magic and talk about the world we live in...and life in general.... When even the coals were spent, we stood and gazed at the stars, wondering at the great expanse and trying to find the Big Dipper. On the first night we did this - just as we were staring directly at Ursa Major- a shooting star streaked from left to right directly in our field of vision through the constellation. We saw it so clearly, it’s flaming colors of orange, yellow and white were discernable and it seemed to hang in the dark sky. We both gasped, and then grabbed each other and said, “Did you SEE that??” When we told Waverly about it the next morning, she was so disappointed that she had missed it, she made us promise we would wake her up the next night so she could see the stars, too. The next night was cloudy, but we made good on our promise the last night we were there. We dragged her from her bed, wrapped in her sleeping bag and carried her into the cold night air. She star-gazed briefly, but soon wanted to surrender to sleep. I was really hoping another meteor would magically appear for the 3 of us, but it did not.

Day trip to the island accessible by foot at low-tide where the Crescent City harbor lighthouse stands. Between bouts of Henry’s diarrhea (too many 100% juice boxes) the kids explored the tide pools and we took in the view from the top of the island – gorgeous of course, and worthy of more than a few pictures. I made a deal with Taylor that if he dealt with Henry's digestive problems I would handle taking all of the scenic photos...

“Kid City” (gi-normous playground) and the walk-through redwood log.

We picnicked there and a large bird pooped on our box of Costco cookies. MMMmmm.

A Day trip to the Redwood Forest was in order, where we walked a .5 mile trail with all 10 kids and were amazed by the size and grandeur of those magnificent trees. I think the kids were even impressed.

Every turn in the trail was a photo-op. It was calming and somehow deeply spiritual to be shaded by the large canopy. I felt like wise old people were looking down at me through those trees. They seemed to know more than me (then again...that's not so difficult). It was a leisurely stroll and a picnic enjoyed by young and old.

The Smith River runs nearby, where we all stopped to cool our feet in the gently running current.

Round rocks – large (sometimes quite large!) and small were tossed in. There were rock-skipping contests, and Waverly caught 3 tiny minnows in a Ziploc baggie.

Eventually all of the grandkids got in up to their necks, while the adults had a contest of who could hit the sandal floating down the opposite bank with a rock - lost by an unfortunate tuber in the river. The sun beat down hot, SPF 30 was passed around, and more memories were made.

A touching family night was led by Grandpa Pete where he played an audio recording made of his father speaking about a time when the Holy Ghost helped him in his life. Most of us had never even heard Grandpa Clarence's voice before. It was a profound lesson taught by a man greatly respected. There was a special spirit there – where even the children all sat attentively and hung on every word of his story. It reminded me of the Book of Mormon passage that mentions “one who speaks from the dust”. What a special time that was to share together. Afterward everyone who cared to shared an experience where the Spirit guided them or touched their life in some way. A special highlight of the evening was when cousins Amy, Waverly and Andie spontaneously sang the primary song, “I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain, and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again. I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain. I want to be the best I can and live with God again.” Such sweet girls, clear voices, and a divine message.